I gave up on my rear hub at under 1,500 miles. Didn't completely fail, but enough noise and wear that I didn't want to get stranded 15 miles from the trailhead. Like the weight and machining quality of the hubs - and the price - but not worth a disposable, one year wheel build to me.

Just happen to put another 4hrs. on the hub. and this was the result. i think the pawls are deflecting during engagement. probably not worth getting a new freehub body. if one part broke and the others are cracking. this might not be a deal breaker though. it may still function as designed. the material is really thin that broke off.
i think some dremel work will prevent further breakage.

Looks like the ring gear made contact with the freehub. Notice the vertical line/mark were the anodizing is worn off. This was a common problem with the previous version due to the axle flexing. I can't believe you are ok with this. Good luck.

it's a 12x142 hub on a carbon frame flex is minimal. those are the only two areas that have the abrasion. and since i didn't ride it but a few miles after it started making noise. i'm going to assume it was the broken pieces. no other damage anywhere. the material is just to thin there not to have problems.

Thats pretty common in all similar ratchet hubs. Either the metal fails there or the springs fail or the pawls themselves, or the ring. Its a flawed disposable design from the start. The only good hubs using this design seems to be WI and hadley, and shimano, but theirs is different.

Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.

This has nothing to do with what I was describing. The hub axel itself flexes enough to allow the freehub to make contact with the ring gear in the hub shell. There is also signs of the ratchet paws "mushrooming" their seat in the freehub body. Anyway, good luck with that.

I just recieved 2 new slx rear hubs and 2 front ones, I think the total cost was like a 100 or 150 or so, i don't really care but it was cheap. They last a long time, they are servicable and dependable. forget about all these nonsense noname crapola hubs. either get proper high end stuff time tested and proven like TP CK WI DT Hadley, (DT seems to be a stretch really to be honest) or get shimano non alu axle/internals models. The shimanos are the same quality as the rest and they cost nothing. They been doing that same design now for like 40 years they have it pretty well nailed down by now to be honest.

Rule #9 // If you are out riding in bad weather, it means you are a badass. Period.

Car Bone, no question about shimano being bullet proof (but heavy) and getting what you pay for (light but expensive!). I will say the seller I bought from off ebay, funkyhorse99 was solid and mailed me out a new freehub so my HDW3 is back working again.

The new freehub has 5 pawls instead of 3.

Problem now of course is I have a very light wheel that I still don't trust to give up the ghost. I'll ride it for local training but I'll be throwing my heavy XT wheel on for races and any ride I am not prepared to get stranded on, at least until I put enough miles in to be confident on this one.

I am 180 and ride a full suspension so take that for what it's worth. I don't think I am too hard on my equipment but I don't baby anything. Next rear wheel I build will probably have to be a Chris King but those things are not cheap...

Car Bone, no question about shimano being bullet proof (but heavy) and getting what you pay for (light but expensive!). I will say the seller I bought from off ebay, funkyhorse99 was solid and mailed me out a new freehub so my HDW3 is back working again.

The new freehub has 5 pawls instead of 3.

Problem now of course is I have a very light wheel that I still don't trust to give up the ghost. I'll ride it for local training but I'll be throwing my heavy XT wheel on for races and any ride I am not prepared to get stranded on, at least until I put enough miles in to be confident on this one.

I am 180 and ride a full suspension so take that for what it's worth. I don't think I am too hard on my equipment but I don't baby anything. Next rear wheel I build will probably have to be a Chris King but those things are not cheap...

That Ebay seller (funkyhorse99) is Shirley Ho & works at Circus Monkey. I have talked to her a lot & got a set of the HDW3 from her. She is great. Even named me on a pic on Facebook to help show me dimensions for my builder to help on spoke selection.

Circus Monkey hubs

Originally Posted by car bone

I just recieved 2 new slx rear hubs and 2 front ones, I think the total cost was like a 100 or 150 or so, i don't really care but it was cheap. They last a long time, they are servicable and dependable

Got another set of "no-name" Nukeproof hubs. Chose instead of Shimano for better rear and front axle options (in case I switch the wheelset from 135x12 and 20mm to 142x12 and 15mm). And can use it on another bike. With another pair I have (Generator AM wheelset) I see no functional difference with DT Swiss and Hope (Hadley would have better engagement). Easy to service. Yes, you get what you pay for, but sometimes it is enough. ... And Circus Monkey keep working perfect on my daughter's bike.
Price (online)/reliability/features wise my favorites are Hope Pro 2s.

I would say a reasonably priced, durable, lightweight alternative is WTB or American Classic hubs. However, engagement is relatively awful. Then of course, there are DT hubs but they're not exactly cheap, even secondhand.

I just built Circus Monkey wheels on WTB Frequence i-23 rims for my Cannondale F29 Lefty.

It is winter here, lots of snow, and I will be riding these new wheels in the spring in a few months so no experience using them yet. The hubs look beautiful and flawless, that is a promising sign.

I built these wheels for semi-slick tires for my daily city commute, to compete on average speed with my colleagues. I am pretty sure I will eventually end up using these wheels for serious trail hammering. I will post my experiences later this year.

the hdh hubs i built last spring are holding up. after i modified the pawl limit tab. just built a set of the new 5 pawl hdw2 for my gravel grinder. i have been cleaning and relubing the pawls on both lately. just because i'm putting more miles on them, and all negativie posts.